


Call It True Love

by orphan_account



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Canon Era, Established Relationship, Love Potion/Spell, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 18:41:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23141869
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Arthur falls under the effects of a love potion. Merlin has a headache.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 55
Kudos: 744





	1. Chapter 1

It wasn’t that Arthur was annoyed…except he totally was and it was all Merlin’s fault. The one person who had always been capable of eliciting the most intense of emotions out of Arthur, irritation being one of them.

He opened the doors to his bedchamber with way more force than necessary, muttering and grumbling and thinking how Merlin would’ve surely called him a drama queen by now, when he suddenly stopped short.

Huh. Well this was a surprise. One Arthur wouldn’t have expected on this day especially. Wonders never ceased indeed.

A smile tugged at his lips and he went closer to the plate of heavenly-looking honey cakes sitting on the table. They were still warm. Arthur had to admit that this was rather nice of Merlin, despite what had happened earlier. Maybe he shouldn’t have been so hard on him…

Basically starving after a therapeutic hunt that went on for too long, Arthur quickly swiped a piece of cake from the plate and popped it into his mouth, the warm sugary sweetness enveloping him.

Yes, oh yes. Merlin was _definitely_ forgiven. Arthur would visit his chambers at first light and –

A knock sounded at the door, breaking Arthur’s stream of thoughts.

“Come in,” he called and grinned, only being able to think of one person who could be at Arthur’s door so late.

However, the door opened and Lancelot stood on the other side of it, smiling apologetically.

“Sorry to disturb you at this hour, my lord but –”

Suddenly, a crash sounded behind Lancelot and a servant girl skidded to a halt at his feet. Her eyes went in quick succession from Lancelot to Arthur to the plate of cakes sitting on the table inside the room, and looked horrified.

She quickly composed himself.

“I –apologies, my lords,” she squeaked, backing away slowly. “This won’t happen again.”

Then she ran like her life depended on it.

Arthur and Lancelot both looked at her retreating form with puzzlement.

“Well, as I was saying,” continued Lancelot, clearing his throat “I just wanted to confirm whether I can take a few days off to visit my sister next week? She hasn’t been feeling well.”

“Oh yes,” said Arthur, remembering the conversation he’d had with his knight the day before. “Of course. You’ve been working hard and you certainly deserve a well-earned break. You have my permission to go.”

Lancelot beamed and bowed low. “Thank you, Arthur. Goodnight.”

With that, Lancelot left and Arthur was left alone to focus on those cakes again….

* * *

“Merlin!” called Gaius from outside, “A guard is at the door. Arthur’s calling for you.”

Merlin looked up from Gaius’s worktable where he was crushing herbs and he smirked to himself when he heard those words. Arthur was looking for him? Indeed? The prat had come to his senses this soon? Miracles do happen.

Well, obviously Merlin would’ve preferred it if Arthur had come to _him_ instead of calling Merlin but he would take what he could get.

He quickly finished his task, washed his hands and set off towards the prince’s chambers, ignoring Gaius’s knowing glance on the way out.

As was the custom, Merlin entered without knocking when he reached Arthur’s room, not being able to help but smile smugly at his win.

Arthur was looking intently out the window, a sappy expression blooming on his face…which did strike Merlin as odd but he didn’t dwell on it.

“Ah Merlin, you’re here” said Arthur, finally noticing his presence. “I want you to quickly pick out some wildflowers and bring them to me.”

Merlin frowned. “What?”

Arthur exhaled. “Honestly Merlin, why must we go through this every single day? The instructions are clear.”

“Are you seriously trying to apologise to me by asking me to bring flowers _for myself_? This is low Arthur, even for you,” Merlin commented, crossing his arms in protest.

“Apologise? To you?” Arthur said, barking out a laugh. “Why on Earth would I do that?”

Merlin stared at him, his jaw going slack. “Unbelievable. Absolutely unbelievable, Arthur Pendragon.”

Then he shook his head and glared at Arthur. “You know what? I’ll be the bigger person, even though it was completely _your_ fault. Right then…sorry, I suppose” said Merlin, not sounding sorry in the least.

“Listen Merlin, I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just do what I asked you to,” Arthur said impatiently, shooting Merlin an exasperated look.

Merlin balled his fists by his side, blue eyes flashing in anger. He could scarcely believe this was happening. Granted, Arthur was a difficult and stubborn man but this was going too far.

“Fine,” he snarled. “Be like that. See if I care.”

Merlin left the room fuming, making sure he banged the door loudly behind him.

* * *

As it turned out, Merlin in fact did care, and he was seething. Especially as Arthur’s behaviour got progressively ruder and Merlin was starting to question many decisions he had made in these past few months.

They were on the training grounds and Merlin glowered as Arthur picked out _Lancelot_ to spar with _again._

The rest of the knights gave annoyed sighs and finally sat down on the grass. It didn’t look like they were going to get a chance at training anytime soon.

Lancelot looked slightly uncomfortable and also a little tired but Merlin knew he’d never refuse his future king. He just took it in his stride and tried to keep up to the best of his abilities, which gave rise to another mystery.

Arthur kept _losing._ Now Lancelot was a fine warrior, everyone knew that and it wouldn’t be a surprise if it was anyone else but this was _Arthur_. Not even Lancelot could keep beating him repeatedly. It was very suspicious. Not to mention the fact that Arthur kept smiling at Lancelot and kept touching him. A little inappropriately, in Merlin’s opinion. It wasn’t like that treatment was supposed to be reserved only for Merlin…but it was exactly like that.

What was Arthur playing at? Was he trying to get back at Merlin? Could he be that cruel? He knew Lancelot was Merlin’s closest friend. The situation was beyond anything he’d dealt with before.

Practice continued and a rush of jealousy went through Merlin as Arthur squeezed Lancelot’s arm for the fifteenth time, but he looked away quickly as Arthur approached him, sweaty hair flopping and a huge grin on his face.

“Training went alright today, don’t you think?” asked Arthur, as he splashed some water on his face.

“It was something,” muttered Merlin coldly, trying not to look at Arthur’s face, lest he get the urge to bonk him on the head.

“Excuse me?” inquired Arthur, with raised eyebrows.

Merlin huffed out a mirthless laugh. “Arthur, look at the other knights. Not a single one but Lancelot got to practice today. You wasted everyone’s time.”

“It’s none of _your_ business how I train my knights, Merlin. I suggest you don’t stick your nose where it doesn’t belong,” snapped Arthur and stalked off. He then proceeded to track down Lancelot who was trying to slink away unnoticed and put an arm around his shoulder, their proximity making Merlin ground his teeth in frustration.

* * *

“I haven’t forgotten that you didn’t get me the flowers I asked for this morning,” Arthur commented, as he mulled over state reports.

Merlin stopped fluffing the gargantuan pillows on Arthur’s bed, took a calming breath. “You didn’t tell me what they were for, sire.”

Arthur glanced at him. “Not that it’s your concern in any way but I’m going to be making a declaration of love.”

Merlin’s heart stopped and he whizzed around to gape at the prince. He _must’ve_ heard him wrong. _He must’ve._ This couldn’t be. _It couldn’t_.

“Wh –what?” he stuttered, blood rushing to his ears and vision getting blurred at the edges. No, no, _no_ …

Arthur rolled his eyes. “A declaration of love, Merlin,” he enunciated, “Do ask Gaius to check your ears, I don’t know what the matter is with your hearing these days.”

“Declaration of love…to whom?” Merlin ventured to ask hollowly, almost scared to hear the answer.

Arthur smiled widely at that, getting a dreamy look in his eyes. “Why, Lancelot, of course.”

Merlin’s whole world turned upside down. He dug his nails into his palms to keep from spinning out. It was all he could do from trembling. No, no, _no._ Merlin refused to believe this.

He could feel his voice shaking as he said, “L –Lancelot? What are you talking about, Arthur? What about us?”

Arthur shrugged noncommittally and flicked through the reports casually again. “There is no ‘us’, Merlin. I’m sorry if I gave you any wrong ideas but –”

“ _Shut up_ ,” said Merlin. His magic coursed through his veins, his mind filling with the heady feeling of power. It was seconds away from bursting out of him. He needed to calm down. He couldn’t potentially lose Arthur and his head on the executioner’s block on the same day.

He took a shuddering breath and turned away from Arthur, to hide how broken he probably looked. Arthur didn’t deserve to see him like that. _That ass._ Merlin couldn’t believe he had the audacity to fall for him. Truly bad decision-making on his part.

Arthur’s thick head seemed to sense the tense atmosphere in the room and he wordlessly left the room, muttering some excuse about visiting his father.

Merlin collapsed on the bed, staring numbly at the ceiling. He wanted to smother himself with the same ridiculously large pillows on the bed that he’d often lain on in the past few months. He was at a loss for words. Arthur’s name kept bouncing around in his head, without any other coherent thought to support it…which wasn’t that out of the ordinary, he supposed.

Of course. This was it, wasn’t it? It was his fault for centering his entire existence around the prattiest prince in all the land. He shouldn’t have gotten so close…shouldn’t have allowed himself to develop feelings.

Merlin didn’t know what had gone wrong.

* * *

He got his answer soon enough.

Later when Merlin was furiously pacing Arthur’s room (instead of doing his chores), his eyes met a curious sight. Well, it wasn’t that curious, since they were just honey cakes but how did they get there? Merlin was the only one who brought Arthur his food directly from the kitchens. No one else had access to it except him and the cook, and Merlin certainly didn’t remember getting any cakes. He knew how Arthur got when he was hopped up on sugar, and Merlin made it a point to keep him away from it as much as possible.

Eyebrows furrowed, Merlin picked up a piece of it and sniffed it. Well, it smelled fine…but there was something stuck to one side of the cake. On closer inspection, it looked like a fluxweed seed which was puzzling because that was a rare plant and if he remembered correctly, wasn’t the seed commonly used to make –

Realisation struck and Merlin dashed through the castle to get to Gaius. If this was what he thought it was, then that would explain all of Arthur’s strange behaviour…. but then it would pose an even bigger problem. Merlin didn’t know which one he preferred.

* * *

It was as he suspected, and Gaius confirmed it. Arthur was under the effects of a love potion, and his affections seemed to be targeted towards Lancelot which didn’t make any sense because that would mean that Lancelot was the one who brewed the potion and –no, it was too horrifying to think about.

“We don’t know that, Merlin,” repeated Gaius, rubbing his face. “There are hundreds of different types of love potions that work in hundreds of ways. I hardly think Lancelot would slip the prince a love potion. I thought he and Guinevere were quite happy together?”

“They are!” whined Merlin, flopping onto the floor helplessly. “I don’t understand.”

Merlin had a headache. He didn’t deserve this.

Gaius placed a comforting arm on his shoulder and said, “I think we’d better direct our efforts at undoing the effects of the potion and determine who the perpetrator was later.”

Merlin looked up and stared at him, praying that this was the easy part. “And how do we do that?”

Gaius smiled impishly, his eyes twinkling. “Well as far as I’m aware Merlin, no matter what kind of love spell or potion it is, the remedy for it is always the same. A kiss from the one Arthur truly loves.”

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

A true love’s kiss. That seemed simple enough, didn’t it? Find the person Arthur truly loved and have them kiss him. Brilliant. Perfect. Except Merlin didn’t know who to ask.

Gaius had heavily hinted that Merlin should be the one to give it a try first because apparently, Arthur looked at him like he “hung the moon and stars”. Which -really? That just sounded absurd. Gaius’s age seemed to be catching up to him.

The truth was that ordinarily, Merlin would have just kissed the idiot and been done with it but their conversation earlier had shaken him up, filled him with self-doubt. He was terrified that the last few months, the last few _years_ hadn’t meant anything to Arthur or at least not as much as they did to Merlin. He was so scared of the possibility that he would kiss Arthur and _it wouldn’t work_ and just the thought of it destroyed Merlin.

He hated everything.

He could ask Gwen, he thought as he tried to get his paranoid mind back on track. She and Arthur had briefly had a fling a couple years ago but was she his true love? Arthur had told Merlin on some occasions how much he preferred Gwen as his friend than his lover, and surely he wasn’t lying. Was he?

Merlin wracked his brain. Who else was there?

In all honesty, he couldn’t think of a better candidate than himself either and he wanted to cry because for the first time ever, he _didn’t_ want to kiss Arthur. Not only was he still massively annoyed with the royal arse but on top of that, he also had debilitating fear of a very real possibility.

Merlin was Arthur’s destiny, they were two sides of the same coin…it made sense that Merlin could break the spell but he just –sigh. He was losing his mind.

He couldn’t let Arthur pine after Lancelot forever though. Merlin had to find him…and try his luck, no matter how dizzy he felt at the prospect.

* * *

If Merlin thought his anxiety was a problem, he had a few things coming his way.

Arthur was _nowhere_ to be found. Not a single thing could ever go smoothly for him. The universe hated him, he was completely sure of that by this point.

As he trudged up the castle for the seventh time, he ran into Lancelot who looked more unsettled than Merlin had ever seen him. Oh lord, this was surely Arthur’s doing.

He seemed relieved and worried at the same time to see Merlin.

“Merlin, I don’t know how to tell you this but –” he began desperately. “Arthur he –I swear I didn’t do anything but he’s just –”

“Lancelot. I know.” said Merlin.

Lancelot exhaled, his eyes getting a little less frantic. “You know? What do you know? Please enlighten me.”

Merlin didn’t know where to begin. “Arthur’s under a love spell. He ate something which was doused in a love potion and now he’s a little bit, well, infatuated. With…you.”

“With me?” asked Lancelot, taking a step back as if Arthur would materialise out of the shadows any second.

Merlin offered him a small sympathetic smile, as if that was nearly consolation enough. “Looks like it.”

Then they just stood there in silence, Lancelot processing the information and Merlin watching him, gauging if there was something off about him, something that might give him away. Because when it came to Arthur, Merlin had learned not to trust anybody. _Anybody._

He cleared his throat. “Lancelot, I have to ask. You didn’t –you know. The love potion. Seeing as you’re the one he’s in, um, love with.”

Lancelot’s eyes went wide at the implication. “Merlin! You can’t possibly think –no! Why would I ever –I mean, I don’t like him like that and besides, I know how you feel about Arthur. I could never do that to you…you know that, right?”

Merlin nodded. He believed him. “I’m sorry, I had to check. Well…that brings me back to square one. Can you think of anything that would explain why it’s you Arthur fell for? When was the last time you saw him when he was…uh normal?”

Well, as normal as Arthur could get, thought Merlin darkly.

Lancelot contemplated that. “I believe I went to his chambers to ask his permission for leave.”

“Okay,” said Merlin. “Okay, good. Do you remember if there was a plate of cakes on his table?”

Lancelot raised his eyebrows at the seemingly random question but shook his head. “I’m sorry Merlin, I don’t know. But wait…I think _–”_

Merlin held his breath. “Yes?”

“There is something strange that happened. A servant girl appeared there out of nowhere and she looked quite shaken. She kept staring at me and Arthur. I don’t know if this is helpful information but –”

Merlin cut him short. “Would you be able to recognise her?”

Lancelot nodded slowly. “I believe so. Yes, yes I would.”

Merlin was almost hopping on energy by this point. “Good, excellent. Round up the kitchen staff and all the serving girls and see if you can catch her. I have to find Arthur!”

He shouted the last part as he bounded down the staircase, not really having a destination in mind.

“Merlin?” called Lancelot.

“Yeah?”

“He’s in the armoury. Looking for a better sword to gift me, I believe” Lancelot admitted sheepishly.

Merlin gave a short laugh and shook his head.

“Of course he is.”

Leave it to Arthur to profess his love with _weapons._ Merlin really wondered why he liked him so much in the first place.

* * *

As Lancelot had informed, Arthur was right in the middle of the armoury. He was checking the balance of a beautiful sword that suspiciously looked like Uther’s…which _definitely_ shouldn’t be given to a knight, no matter how besotted the prince was with said knight.

Merlin couldn’t help but stay back a moment to just study him. Arthur was loud and brash, but he was also very reserved when it came to showing real emotions. But there in that armoury…the sheer look of wonder and adoration that shone on his face had Merlin breathing a little quicker. He hoped Arthur would look at him like that one day too.

Merlin coughed, drawing Arthur’s attention from the gleaming royal sword to him.

“So, how did the _declaration of love_ go?” Merlin asked, biting back a smile.

Arthur glared at him, and then sighed dejectedly. “I haven’t had the chance to make it yet. For some reason, Lancelot is nowhere to be found.” His eyes suddenly lit up. “Have you seen him, Merlin?”

Merlin shrugged and stepped closer. “Can’t say I have, no.”

Arthur’s face fell again and he sheathed the sword. “Ah well. He wouldn’t be difficult if he wasn’t worth it, I suppose.”

Merlin nodded understandingly, relating a ridiculous amount with that statement.

“Arthur, can I talk to you?” he asked, wanting to get right down to business.

“Of course.”

“It’s a little confidential, can you step a bit closer?”

Arthur did as he asked, if a little hesitantly. “What is this about, Merlin?”

Merlin took his chance and surged forward to plant his lips on Arthur’s. However, Arthur easily dodged him, catching him by the shoulders instead. _Damn reflexes._ Merlin hated highly trained warriors.

Arthur gaped at him. “What the hell, Merlin?!” he yelled.

Merlin was honestly so done with this.

“Oh for god’s sake,” he muttered and incanted a spell to freeze Arthur on the spot. It was the split second he needed to grab him by the collar and kiss him on his cold lips, undoing the spell as he did so.

Merlin counted. _One, two, three_ , _four…_

Arthur pushed him away.

Merlin’s heart stopped beating.

* * *

So Merlin’s worst fears had been realised.

It hadn’t worked. He wasn’t Arthur’s true love. Brilliant.

Not only did that completely shatter him, he also had no idea who his true love actually _was._ He couldn’t _believe_ he shared a goddamn destiny with this man, that he was supposed to stay by his side for as long as he lived and yet…and yet he was not someone Arthur would ever truly love.

Why – _why was this happening to him?_ Merlin debated just going back to Ealdor and never looking back at this godforsaken city again.

Arthur and Lancelot could get married and have fourteen children, for all he cared.

Someone banged at his door.

“Merlin! _Merlin open the door, this is urgent!”_ Gaius’s voice boomed from outside.

Merlin pushed his face into the pillow. “Go away Gaius, I’m currently in the process of dying forever.”

“Save the dramatics, boy. I think I know why it didn’t work the first time. Come on out now, Lancelot is here,” Gaius said sternly.

Merlin lifted his head. “What?” he said dumbly.

“Just come out, Merlin. It’s not what you think,” came Lancelot’s gentle voice next.

With a long-suffering groan, Merlin pulled himself up from his bed and unlatched the door. He glared at them with red-rimmed eyes and threatened, “I swear if you both are planning to lie to me or something…I must remind you I’m the most powerful sorcerer to walk the Earth. So just be careful.”

Gaius sniggered at his words while Lancelot ruffled his hair and Merlin was highly offended. His threat didn’t even slightly have the intended effect; this day could not get worse.

“I caught the servant and she confessed to spiking the cakes with a love potion,” Lancelot informed him.

Merlin’s interest piqued. Maybe there was hope yet.

“And?”

Gaius unfolded his reading glasses and put them on, gesturing to the large tome sitting on his work table. “I questioned her on the type of potion it was. Apparently a quite powerful sorceress had taught her how to make it and naturally, the girl thought making the prince fall in love with her would be awfully beneficial.”

Merlin was confused. “Then how did Arthur fall in love with Lancelot, and not her?”

Gaius ignored him and continued, “Now I’m almost completely sure I have accurately guessed which type potion this is. According to the book, the first person the victim sees after consuming the potion is the one they will fall in love with. I think it is safe to assume that the girl intended that to be herself but by pure chance, Lancelot was the one Arthur saw first. I think we should count ourselves lucky for that.”

Lancelot looked unconvinced about the last part but kept quiet.

“Now the matter of importance,” said Gaius, looking at Merlin intently. “Did you use magic to kiss Arthur?”

Merlin shifted his eyes downward and coughed awkwardly. _How did Gaius know that?_

“Maybe,” he mumbled guiltily.

Gaius smacked him on the head.

“Ow!” Merlin yelped. “Gaius!”

“You foolish boy! Using magic against it increases its potency!” said Gaius heatedly. “That is why your attempt failed.”

Merlin knew that this was bad. He knew that he had just made his job a lot harder…but he suddenly found that he could breathe easier. The knot in his throat loosened and he felt like he could faint with the relief he felt. All was not lost.

The half-packed satchel for Ealdor in his room suddenly seemed leagues away.

He noticed that Gaius was still scowling at him, and he quickly apologised. “Uh, right sorry. That was stupid.”

“Now would you _please_ give it a second chance before the prince of Camelot proposes marriage to poor Lancelot here?”

Lancelot looked horrified at that prospect. “Merlin, please”, he pleaded.

Merlin nodded, running a hand through his hair. He started to make a mental list of the places Arthur could be in at this hour.

The feast! Yes, of course! Merlin was supposed to dress him for the feast that was to take place in an hour in the Great Hall. Something was finally going his way.

He stood up at once and dashed through the room, making his way to the prince’s bedchambers.

“No magic this time!” called Gaius’s voice distantly.

* * *

Arthur was waiting for him, tapping his fingers against his crossed arms and trying to look dangerous. It would’ve worked on anyone else except Merlin. Never Merlin.

“Sorry, I’m late!” said Merlin, quickly closing the door behind him. “I lost track of time.”

“You look like a disaster.”

“Thanks.”

“And I haven’t forgotten what happened in the armoury earlier. We’re going to talk about boundaries and propriety after the feast, Merlin,” said Arthur seriously.

Merlin almost laughed at that. Boundaries. _Propriety._

“Right. Of course, sire,” he agreed, keeping his expression as sincere as possible.

“Now come and dress me! What are you waiting for? Those stuffy nobles will have my head if I’m late,” huffed Arthur, stretching his arms out like a petulant child.

Merlin suppressed a smile and gestured Arthur to go by the folding screen so Merlin could pick out his clothes.

Merlin hardly paid any attention to what he selected from the wardrobe, before he was standing in front of Arthur, his hands lightly brushing the fine silk tunic.

Arthur’s breath hitched at the proximity and he turned to move towards the wall to get away but instead, allowing Merlin to crowd him against it.

“Merlin,” Arthur warned softly. His eyes involuntarily stole a glance at Merlin’s mouth, making Merlin feel bolder.

Merlin placed a hand on his chest to keep him in place, not that he particularly needed to. Arthur looked dazed, confused and utterly frozen.

“Lancelo –” Arthur started to say before Merlin cut him off by firmly pressed his lips against the prince’s, praying that it would work this time.

One beat passed. Two.

Arthur was unmoving.

It felt like Merlin’s worst fears were to be realised again, when something seemed to snap in the air and Arthur slipped an arm around his waist, kissing him back.

Merlin would've collapsed with relief had Arthur not been holding him so tightly all of a sudden. This was...it. This was how it was supposed to be like. Merlin _knew_ this, he knew how this felt, had known it for months. It was familiar and dizzying and _so good_. They fit together like puzzle pieces and it was mad of Merlin to ever entertain the notion that anyone but him could've broken the spell. _Of course_ Arthur loved him, of course he did. He showed it to Merlin in a million different ways every single day and Merlin felt like a fool to have doubted him.

He smiled against Arthur’s lips, fisting his fingers into his tunic to pull him closer. The world felt right again. 

A few moments passed before Merlin remembered that they _were_ still technically in the middle of a fight and if he knew anything, it was that he wasn’t about to let Arthur off the hook that easily _for anything_. So he drew away excruciatingly slowly, leaving Arthur to chase after him. Merlin clamped a hand over his mouth to stop his advances and stepped away.

“ _Merlin_ , _”_ Arthur whined, his cheeks flush with colour. “Where do you think you're going? Get back here this instant!”

Merlin crossed his arms and stared him down with narrowed eyes. “You know, this is just like you. Roping me into kissing you when I particularly don't want to.”

“What are you talking about –is this about that ridiculous argument again?” said an exasperated Arthur.

 _If only,_ thought Merlin.

“Do you not remember what happened? With Lancelot?” Merlin asked.

“Lance- What does Lancelot have to do with this? Look, you have to admit that you shouldn’t have thrown my favourite tunic in the wash when you _knew_ I wanted to wear it tonight,” Arthur reasoned.

“That tunic was nothing compared to the one I picked out! It’s not _my_ fault you have rotten taste,” countered Merlin heatedly.

“ _Yes_ , clearly I do,” Arthur commented, gesturing to Merlin and biting back a playful grin.

Merlin gasped and opened the door to step out. “That’s it! I’m leaving. You can dress yourself, _sire.”_

“Merlin what- Merlin, I'm sorry, all right? Merlin? _MERLIN_!”

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that was it! Hope it was at least a little nice. I didn't put too much thought into this, I just wrote in the flow and I gotta admit, it was a super fun experience.  
> Thank you for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm back on my Merthur bullshit, lmao there's no escape huh? So I promised a longer fic next time and here it is! Cliche trope but I'm still having fun writing this. 
> 
> There's going to be another chapter to this that I'll be posting in a day or two, so look out for that!
> 
> Just for the record, I'll be getting to writing new chapters for Golden Strands right after this. That's a bigger project so WHEW.
> 
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy it. Credits to Coldplay for title inspo.
> 
> Till next time!


End file.
